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(No Model.)

WWIMMIIOOM f I Ileljor l j Jhlm Y Patented June 80, 1896.

J. P. MERN. OOVBR FOR STOP OOOK BOXES.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

JOHN r. MERN, or NEw YORK, N. Y., AssIeNoR To MICHAEL J. DRUMMOND, oF SAME PLACE.

COVER FOR STOP-COCK BOXES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 563,239, dated June 30, 1896.

Application filed February 29,1896. Serial No. 581,324. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN P. MERN, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing in the city and county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Cover for Stop-Cook Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to stop-cock boxes, and the object in view is to provide a simple and efficient cover for the street-boxes of gas, water, or other surface or supply pipes, the said cover being adapted to effectively exclude dirt and moisture and carrying with it the means whereby it is locked in place, so that upon the removal of the cover there is nothing to interfere, in the slightest way, with the insertion of the key.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a cover the looking device of which will operate with a cam action to draw the cover to its seat with a pressure proportionate to the force exerted upon the key by which the lock is manipulated.

The invention consists in certain novel features and details of construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the drawings,and finally pointed out in the claim hereto appended.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a stop-cock box with the improved cover applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section through the upper end of the box and the cover on line :c :c of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the box, looking upward toward the bottom surface of the cover. Fig. 4 is a reverse perspective view of the improved cover.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the several iigures of the drawings.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, 1 designates a stop-cock box, which for the greater part may be of any ordinary or preferred construction. For the purpose of carrying out the present invention, this box, which is cylindrical in form, has its top edge offset inwardly to form an oblique or beveled annular shoulder 2. The top edge of the box is also formed with an annular rabbet 3 at its outer edge or periphery, and the formation of this rabbet establishes an upwardlyprojecting rim or annular flange 4, around which the cover, now to be described, snugly fits. It will also be observed that the exterior surface of the rim 4 slopes toward its top edge, being of lessdiameter at its top edge than at its base. This forms a conical or tapering seat for the 'cover and renders it possible to obtain very close contact of the. cover with the box.

The cover (indicated at 5) is disk-shaped and provided with a depending annular rim or flange 6, which ts snugly around the rim 4 of the box, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, being adapted, when the cover is drawn all the way down, to find its seat upon the base or hori- Zontal wall of the rabbet 3.

Upon the bottom surface of the cover and within the rim 6 are lugs 7 arranged diametrically opposite and adapted to lie within the rim 4 of the box and to assist in guiding l[he cover properly to its place on the box and also serving as braces when the cover is in place. The cover also has, upon its under side, an oblique lug or stop 8, which inclines outwardly and downwardly and has its outer surface slightly rounded and beveled, as shown, so as to enga-ge beneath and bear against the oblique or tapering shoulder 2 of the box.

At the opposite side of the cover, and alittle to one side of a line drawn diametrically through the center of the lug 8, is a lockingcam 9, mounted fast on the lower end of the key-shaft 10, the upper end of which is provided with a polygonal or irregular head 11, arranged in a cylindrical recess 12 in the upper surface of J[he cover, the said'recess being surrounded by a raised annular seat 13, which prevents objects from coming in contact with the head 11, thus preventing injury to the same. The cam 9 when turned by a suitable key applied to the head of the keyshaft operates at its swinging edge against the inner surface of the box and tends to crowd the box-cover in the opposite direction. The working edge of the cam comprises a flat portion 14, which operates against the vertical wall of the box, and also a beveled or oblique surface 15, which coperates with the oblique annular shoulder 2, above referred to, to draw or crowd the cover downward to IOO its seat with a pressure proportionate to the amount of force applied to the key. By arranging the key-shaft or fulcrum of the cam at one side of a line drawn diametrcally through the stops 8, the working edge of the cam may be brought to bear throughout its whole extent against the inner surface of the box, asclearly shown in Fig. 8. The frictional adhesion between the extended working edge of the cam 9 and the inner surface of the box eiectually prevents the accidental disengagement of t-he cam or the rotation thereof, which would admit of the top being removed. A stop 16 on the bottom of the cover limits the rotation of Jthe cam and its shaft.

It will be apparent that changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacricing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described 'the invention, what is claimed as new is- The combination with a stop-cock box provided with an oblique annular shoulder upon its inner surface and adjacent to its top edge, of a cover adapted to t over the top of said box and provided with a depending lug upon its under side having an oblique face adapted to coperate with the oblique shoulder of the box, a cam arranged beneath the cover and located opposite said lug and at one side of a line drawn diainetrically through the lug, the working edge of said cam comprising a vertical portion and an oblique or beveled portion whereby it is adapted to operate against the vertical inner surface of the box and also against the oblique annular shoulder therein, and provision for operating said cam from the exterior of the box, substantially as and for the purpose described. A

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN P. MERN. Witnesses:

JOSEPH H. JONES, JNO. M. FRASER. 

